Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Comic Con fans: Gonna be near Louisville, KY this weekend? If so, come to Fandomfest! It's going to be awesome this year. You can even stop by and see me in full costume. I'll be at booth 43 in the vendor hall! Get your tickets online: http://www.fandomfest.com/

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

I'm happy to be hosting the talented Dan Wright again on his blog tour for the final 3-part installment of his Draconica Series. I've really enjoyed the previous books and am now reading this one. You'll see my review in a couple weeks! For now, you can read my interview with him. Comments appreciated!

She is Coming...

When Daniar Dragonkin heard those words, she had no idea of the full horror that would follow. Now, enemies converge to bring to life a monstrous plan that has been set in motion since long before the events of Trapped on Draconica. A plot to bring Her back from darkness.

With her family threatened, her old enemies back to torment her - and a civil war in Baalaria preventing any help from her sister, Daniar faces the darkness moment of her entire life. Her sanity will be pushed to the limit as she faces evil in it's purest form.

Heroes will die. Villains will rise. And She will return - bringing with it the end to all of Draconica.

She Returns is the first book in the Final Ragnarok saga - and the conclusion of a trap that has been building for years. Everything you'd read about Draconica so far has been leading up to this moment. This is where it all changes - and where Draconica's ultimate fate (and of it's people) will be decided.

Interview

Where
are you from and what do you do when you’re not writing?

I was originally born on the planet Asgard, to the
Frost Giants. I was adopted by Odin of the Asgardians and lived in the shadow
of my brother Thor for most of my life. Growing up I decided to overthrow my
family using my magic and trickster ways…

Anyhoo. My name is Dan, I’m from the fairly famous
town of Canterbury and, when not writing, I work in a call centre – but am
hoping that one day I can earn a living from my books. I also play in a band
called Rage of Silence, which is my other project. I also enjoy watching films,
reading comics and manga, and I also have a fan parody series on Youtube called
Totalitarian Warlord and Termination Squadron. Oh, and feeding my cat whenever
she needs it.

How
did you come up with the idea for this book/series?

Fantasy has always been my first love for fiction.
Growing up I always loved the stories about knights and dragons and medieval
stories in general, but also Greek and Egyptian mythology. This series is
pretty much a mix of all the things I loved growing up. Dragons, cool looking
weapons and armour, awesome magic – and sexy girls that kick ass!

Actually the last one you have to thank 80’s
cartoons for. I saw a lot them growing up and one of my favs were the He-Man and She-Ra cartoons. She-Ra in particular was my first instance of
seeing a superheroine and she pretty much inspired the Dragonkin.

When I was looking for art for the novel, I met an
artist that was very manga-inspired with her art and that pretty much changed
my outlook in the characters and the way I told the story. It helped me craft
my writing style into something a little more tongue in cheek, but knowing when
to take itself seriously. I’d go so far to say that Manga and Anime were the
largest influences on the way I write.

Tell
us about the writing process—what were your favorite and least favorite
moments?

Editing is by far my most hated process! Though to
be fair, I think this is any author’s most hated moment. There’s nothing more
embarrassing for me going through the drafts of my work and seeing all the
mistakes, typos and moments when I read back a chapter and think “What the hell
was I thinking with that?” XD. This is why I often let my Mum proofread my
work. She’s an expert at picking out all the grammatical mistakes and plot
holes.

My favourite moment, probably goes without saying,
writing the book. I often plan out months in advance how the story will go
before I sit down to write it and it’s a great moment when I can sit down and
put my ideas down onto paper.

What’s
your favorite cure for writer’s block?

I go away for a few days, watch some films (animated
films are GREAT inspirations for me at the moment) and then go back to it.
There’s also a song by my favourite band, Dream Theater, called “Wither” which
is about Writer’s Block, so I like to listen to that now and then for
inspiration. Also, there’s this friend I had on Facebook that listens to all my
ideas and she offers me a lot of support when I need it. There’s been a few
times where I’ve thought about giving up – but she’s been there for me in my
darkest moments. If not for her I would have given up J

Can
you please share an excerpt? (250 words or less)

Oh go on then! Since you asked so nicely. I’m gonna
share one of my favourite scenes from my forthcoming novel Final Ragnarok: She Returns, which involves one of my favourite
characters – the Man in Shadow. In this scene, he has captured Lydia (one of
the heroes) and is about to torture her. This scene perfectly captures the
darkly comedic side of the Man in Shadow. And he’s a little picture of MIS to
go with it.

‘Is life
so inconsequential to you?’ Lydia wept.

‘Life?
What is Life if not a Fantasy? A dream? Life has no meaning, no purpose – so
why should I?’ One of his spider limbs let go of Lydia’s thighs and moved
around her chest. ‘I could rip your armour from you and violate you in every
possible way I can. I could make you scream in both pain and pleasure at the
same time and I would enjoy every single second of it. I could hurt you really,
really badly, just to make you scream.’

He
waited for a reaction from Lydia. She just gazed at him in disbelief.

‘Nothing?
Ah well. I never was one for chat up lines.’

What’s
your next/current writing project?

There will be a sequel for Final Ragnarok, which I’m hoping will be out December 2015. This
will be the final book in the Draconica
series – and I intend to give it an epic showdown to end it! The final few
chapters along will be one big fight scene.

I also have a book coming out through Paper Crane
Press called Amanda Moonstone. This
is a new series I’m working on, inspired by Pixar/Disney films. It’s about a
sorceress that tries to rescue a missing prince – but she becomes attached to
him. Amanda I think is one of the best characters I’ve created – and I hope
people come to love her. She’s the kinda like my version of Elsa from Frozen, she has a huge burden to bear
and it’s tearing her apart.

In actual fact, one of scenes in this book was
partially inspired by the song “Say Something” by A Great Big World. When I
first heard that song, I was so moved by it, it inspired me to write a scene in
this book. It also has a character in there that I consider my creepiest
character yet. I won’t say too much, but his name is The Author. J

That should be out sometime next year. Like my other
stuff it will have art to go along with the story. I’m actually looking forward
to releasing it and it’s my first book through an indie publisher so that’s
really exciting for me.

Here’s
a totally random question for you:

What
if the world of Draconica got sucked into the Twilight Zone and emerged as an
episode of Star Trek (either the original or TNG). Which characters would play
the captain, first mate, security, engineering, etc? And give us a one liner
that could stick to each of them, like “Damn it, Jim, I’m a doctor, not a ___.”

Ah! Random questions work for me!
I must confess – I never really watched Star
Trek in great detail, so I apologise if I miss out any important
characters. But here’s my choices for each role. I can never remember who did
what, so I’ll go with the original characters and you can probably guess who
does what.

Kirk– Daniar (of course).

Spock – Rana

Bones – Erowin

Chekov – Kalak

Sulu – Finn

Uhura – Zarracka (because why
not?)

Scottie – Ben (from Trapped on
Draconica)

Also, I’d had Jihadain play the
Khan role, because I think Daniar screaming “JIHADAIN!” in the same why Kirk
cried “KHAN!” would be pretty cool!

Thanks
so much for stopping by!

No problem. Thanks for having me! And here’s a
picture of Finn for your readers as a thank you for having me. You’re welcome!
;)

Finnnnnn!!!!!! I'm such a fangirl! He almost rivals my love for Legolas...almost :)

About
Dan Wright:

Dan lives Canterbury, Kent, UK. A huge fan
of both Fantasy and Manga, he has a style that combines both within his
writing, which lets him tell stories that are both dramatic and tongue-in-cheek
at the same time. He picked up a love of Fantasy stories after reading The
Lord of the Rings, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and numerous
Roald Dahl novels.

Dan also runs his own website, blog and a
wiki page dedicated to the world of Draconica. He has also been a reviewer for
the website Read2Review and occassionally reviews books on his blog. He has
also written a short comic book strip called Queller, which was published
in an anthology for the comic Lighting Strike Presents... At the
moment he is also currently working on a script for an independant video game -
to be released in the future.

Other than that, I'll be plugging away at my manuscript, tentatively titled A Time for Everything. I hope to have it ready for beta readers soon. No word yet on release dates, but hopefully it'll be in the very near future.

This novel is quite a departure from my fantasy series. There are no explicit love scenes, but it's far from tame. Set in 1866 Tennessee, the characters come up against the poverty, racism, violence, and drug abuse that existed during those challenging years of the South's Reconstruction.

Here's the tentative blurb to whet your appetite:

After losing her husband and only child to the ravages of
the Civil War, twenty-five-year-old Portia McAllister is drowning in grief.
When she sees an ad for a live-in tutor in another town, she leaves everything behind
in hopes of making a fresh start. But as a Confederate widow in a Union household,
she is met with resentment from her new charge and her employer, war veteran
Beau Stanford.

Despite their differences, she and Beau find common ground and
the stirrings of a second chance at love until his late wife’s cousin, Lydia,
arrives with her sights set on him. Burdened with a farm on the brink of
bankruptcy, Beau is tempted by Lydia’s hefty dowry, though Portia has captured
his heart.

In another time and another place, his choice would be easy.
But love seems impossible amid the simmering chaos of Reconstruction that could
boil over at any moment into an all-out battle for survival. Will Beau and
Portia find their way into each other’s arms, or will they be swept away by
raging forces beyond their control?

****

I hope you all will check it out when it's released. I'll keep you updated! ~Mysti

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

It's my great pleasure to have Yolantha Harrison-Pace on Unwritten today. I met Yolantha a couple years ago. She is a super-talented performing poet and artist who puts all her heart and soul into her work. She uses her God-given talents to travel the world and spread a message of love and peace. I am so happy to know her, and I hope you all will get to know her too. Read on and be sure to show her some love by leaving a comment.

Yolantha Harrison-Pace

Where are you from and what do you do when you’re not writing?

My main home would probably be Texas.

When I am not writing I am a teaching artist with the
Kentucky Arts Council and Promise Neighborhood or a reading scholar for Prime
Time Readers. Or I am traveling and serving as a Good Will Ambassador for
under served women and children populations in America and beyond. In
addition I am a textile folk artist and illustrator.

Tell us about the writing process—what were your favorite and least favorite moments?

Writing for me is a full birthing experience. The idea
is the seed that is planted and then fertilized by my life experiences.
The idea germinates producing arms and legs that turn into notes and
doodles, sentences and paragraphs in my prayer journals. Once the parts
are formed the story, poem, play or ghetto-tale is birthed into the universe to
be enjoyed by the world. The least favorite part of this process is when
I have extra arms and legs and eyes and hips waiting to be processed into a
publishable form. I don't want to take any of God's words with me to the
grave.

What’s your favorite cure for writer’s block?

For me there is no such thing as "writers block".
If I cannot write then I have not lived that day. So I describe
what I did that day no matter how mundane or insignificant the day seemed.
I have even written about the mundane-ness of my day or about
insignificance and when all else failed I wrote about my WRITERS BLOCK.

WRITING EXCERPT FROM "Shout, Mammy, Shout!!!" This
is what I call a "ghetto-tale". GHETTO-TALES are stories or
poems told from my own unique African American perspective.

Snaaaaaaaaaaake

City slickers, city slickers,

And then humiliating laughter

All daylong

Chanted and laughed my

Country cousins

Everything my four brothers and I said

Was city dumb

And provoked country laughter

Grandfather walked by--“You kids need
to be out there picking cotton”

My cousins scattered

My brothers took their cue from my
cousins

I was left standing in their dust

Squinting from the country sun

Watching Grandfather with his
dignified country walk

Go into the barn

I imitated his walk, as best I could

Following him into the barn

He climbed up into the loft

Grandfather knew I was there

Without even letting me know

That he knew I was thereI followed to
the first level

He went up another level and

Tossed down a bale of hay

“Hay,” Grandfather said

The smell of it itched my nose so
badly I sneezed

“Snake” said Grandfather

Without breaking the stride of his
every day voice

And he threw it down

It floated down in slow motion like in
a nightmare

I screamed and hopped and jumped and
jerked

Like a city slicker

Snaaaaaaake, snaaaaaaake, snaaaaaaake

I didn’t care; I’d never seen a
country snake

Let alone ever had any kind of snake

Country, city, continental, island or
other wise

Float down to my feet

When I was semi calm

Grandfather picked up the airy snake

And educated me on

How a snake sheds its skin

My grandfather was full of thunderous
knowledge

What’s your next/current writing project?

Currently I am developing a poetry series and have
several children's books being published through Gibson-Ragle Publications.
I also have a book coming out this fall and another the early part of
2015 with TRUBU PUBLISHING COMPANY.

Here’s a totally random question for you:

Come up with your own silly haiku, but you must include the word “noodle”.

UNRANDOM HAIKU

think hard women think

noodles of girlness are
gone

ladies rule the world

Thanks so much for stopping by!

****

Yolantha (often branded as the
the new Maya Angelou, seasoned with Gwendolyn Brooks, bathed in Langston
Hughes, peppered with Angela Davis, Sprinkled with Mother Teresa, lathered in
William Shakespeare, rolled in Edgar allen Poe, embellished with Annes Sexton,
skimmed from the African Motherland breakfast tables of Chinua Achebe, Wole
Soyinka and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie) Pace's mission statement is unity through
the pursuit of cultural excellence. As a Good Will Ambassador she is
called to hug the unhuggable, touch the touchable and listen to those who are
forever unheard. One sees the essence of her heritage as a descendant of
African slaves and the Cherokee and Arapaho nations in her textile artistry and
book illustrations. She has served in Haiti since the year 2000 and will
be broadening her service base soon in India.

(Get more of YOLANTHA. Order her books
through www.amazon.com or www.trubupress.com. For speaking
engagements and booksignings contact YOLANTHA THE POET, in person, through yolanthapace@gmail.com)librarieswomen's
issuesenvironmental
save the planet/celebrate earthelementary
schoolshigh
schoolscolleges
and universitieschurches
and mission groupsbook
clubsphilanthropic
groups